[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

The Fence Administration headed by Brigadier-General Eran Ofir, and the Department of Engineering and Construction at the Ministry of Defense, recently completed a project to heighten the Israel-Egypt border fence. The construction of the barrier, known as the Hourglass Project, was completed in 2014.

The 242-kilometer fence, equipped with warning systems and information collection centers, was built between Kerem Shalom and Eilat and subsequently brought to a stop the flow of illegal migration from Africa into Israel. In 2015, smugglers from Sinai succeeded in partially overcoming certain areas of the barrier and the number of infiltrators suspended by security officials on the Israeli side of the fence rose to 213.

Due to the increased number of infiltration attempts, the Ministry of Defense and the IDF decided to increase the height of the fence as a way to prevent future illegal crossings. The project was assigned to the Fence Administration, under the command of Brig.-Gen. Eran Ofir who is responsible for the construction and maintenance of each of the country’s border fences, and the Ministry of Defense Department of Engineering and Construction. In recent months, 17km of the fence were elevated from 5 meters to 8 meters in height, and additional technological devices were added in order to uncover smuggling routes from Sinai into Israel.

The project, completed over the last few days, has already significantly curbed the flow of illegal infiltration into Israel, with only 11 successful attempts to cross the fence throughout 2016.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo/Video Credit: Ministry of Defense Fence Administration)